This invention relates to cabinet structures and, more particularly, to a vanity cabinet incorporating a folding mirror panel which, in the preferred embodiment, may be associated with lights for illumination.
Various types of vanity cabinet structures have been used over the years. Many have included folding tops or covers which may be raised to reveal a mirror positioned for viewing when a person is positioned in front of the cabinet. Prior known vanity cabinet structures have, however, suffered from numerous deficiencies making them undesirable from various standpoints.
For instance, toilet cabinets are shown in Gaal U.S. Pat. No. 1,062,962 and Windecker U.S. Pat. No. 1,443,858 in which pivotable top covers are raised to expose mirrors for viewing. In Gaal U.S. Pat. No. 1,062,962, a pivoted mirror is hinged to the rear of a slide-out drawer. The drawer must be pulled out to its full extent before the mirror is properly positioned for viewing. In Windecker U.S. Pat. No. 1,443,858, on the other hand, a mirror is combined with a storage cabinet such that, when a tilted receptacle is swung outwardly toward the front of the cabinet, a pair of pivoted links are moved upwardly and outwardly to both raise a top cover and swing a hinged mirror outwardly to a viewing position at the top of the cabinet. In both Gaal and Windecker, however, use of the mirror for viewing is severely limited, especially for close-up viewing, since the sliding drawers or pivoted storage areas prevent close approach to the viewing surface. Moreover, it would be virtua11y impossible to remain seated within front of one of these structures when the drawer or pivoted storage cabinet is operated.
Other vanity cabinets as shown in Morse U.S. Pat. No. 1,497,379 and Pearson U.S. Pat. No. 1,667,564 have been proposed for use as either freestanding or separate storage structures. In Morse U.S. Pat. No. 1,497,379, for instance, a manually pivotable cover on a freestanding combination table may be raised to a rearwardly slanted position after which a separate hinged mirror panel may be pivoted upwardly to rest against the cover panel and hold the cover in its raised position.
In Pearson U.S. Pat. No. 1,667,564, a cover is provided on a box structure which includes a slide-out drawer. The cover may be opened for use as a storage structure and includes a hinged panel having a mirror thereon. The mirror may be manually pivoted to a generally upright position to support the box-like cover.
Once again, use of the Pearson structure from close in front is difficult when the drawer structure is slid outwardly. Also, the mirror itself must be repositioned each time the box-like cover is raised in order to provide a proper viewing angle for the mirror. In Morse, the mirror panel may be supported in only two positions and is located near the rear of the cabinet making close-up viewing difficult because of the protrusion of the front of the cabinet. Moreover, with both of the Pearson and Morse structures, use of the cabinet is cumbersome because multiple operations to properly position the mirror are required. In addition, neither mirror is automatically positioned as desired.
Other variations of vanity cabinets are shown in Marchand U.S. Pat. No. 2,758,900 and Hausman U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,709. The Marchand cabinet is a complex structure using pressurized cylinders and a heavy bracket assembly to pivot a cover having a mirror mounted on its underside to a raised position. Not only is the Marchand structure expensive, but is quite complex and requires the cylinders for efficient operation.
In Hausman U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,709, a simple hinged cover with a mirror panel thereon is combined with a bathroom table and hamper structure. The cover may be supported in only one raised position, again at the back of the cabinet making close-up viewing difficult. Also, with both of the Marchand and Hausman structures, the mirror panel is not adjustable to different positions making use by persons of varying height quite difficult. Flexibility of use of all of the above structures is limited as well because none of these prior structures are designed for ease of insertion as prebuilt units in modern, prebuilt cabinets wherein on-site assembly is made by securing together the prebuilt units followed by covering with a continuous, one-piece countertop. Moreover, the prior known cabinets were also not adapted for easy insertion in custom, site-built cabinetry.